All subject teachers would come in and give you guys a good lecture. Then there was the class teacher's special. It's the same week Pepe Minambo would be invited for a talk. He'd come and spell 'SMART' vertically. Each letter with an even stronger meaning. As he'd conclude, he'd promise the whole school cocktails in our 'evening dresses' if we all got A's haha. He knew we wouldn't. Which is okay because I suspect they'd be mocktails, probably watermelon and mango juice. On Sunday service, Pastor Kioko would most dramatically say how the people in Alliance aren't sleeping. What you don't realize is that years later, they still don't sleep if they haven't told you they were in Alliance. Also, Starehe boys are the same, if not worse.
All these lectures, talks and sermons would end with 1 common parting shot : "...you came here alone and you'll leave here alone." Which is kind of ironic because my closest circle are girlies I was in highschool with (a majority of them).
Anyway, after those talks, as a class and as individuals, you decide to make alterations. There's even no need for a noisemaker's list. You complete your assignments and write all your notes (btw I never finished my Social Studies notes.) You even prepare your own study timetable and form study groups. You're a changed being. Your life's mission is to have your name and school appear in the newspapers.
There was a time I got suspended from school. That's a story for another day. But it wasn't because of not finishing my SST notes. It was a case of mistaken identity haha. Anyway(z), while serving my suspension, I missed some CATs. Come end of the term, I was literally number last in class. Heh! The next term I came back so criaz (serious)
Usually, these life changes would last for all of 3 days, max! And you're back to your old ways. "Kufa dereva, kufa makanga, wacha gari ianguke". You ask your deskie to tell the Geography teacher you're unwell so you just have to sleep. Why? Because honestly, there was nothing more painful than listening to 90 minutes of 'The characteristics of obsidian rocks'. You only enjoy set-books. Stories.
***
It's 2012 and you're yet to join Uni. You're taking those computer packages classes and the highlight of your week is meeting your friends at Nakumatt Lifestyle on Fridays. On the weekdays also, you volunteer at some organization and spend a lot of time on the computer playing solitaire. You then stumble upon bikozulu.wordpress.com. It's a fireplace, where stories are told... with eyes closed. The guy telling these stories has a style of writing that's different. Beautiful. He has a way around his words, it's as if they were playmates in the womb. You savor every story.
As he continues to grow and evolve, - gets his own domain - you can tell or believe that he's daring, non-judgmental, curious and funny. The first time you learn what is a Sabina Joy, is from him. Scandalous! Anyway, you become a stan (of Biko, not Sabina Joy)
You read him :
At the hospital as you wait for your dad to go through chemotherapy.
On the night you receive the news that your dad is cancer-free, after weeping with your mum in each other's embrace.
When you leave Uni and are accompanied by the reality and loneliness of early-adulting.
When you're nursing your worst heartbreak, in a Blueline shuttle on the way to Kakamega.
When you're amongst your friends in corporate jobs and they're speaking in acronyms. "COB, EOD, BYSS(lol)" or data guys with sijui Wiget.
You read him every Tuesday. You've read 'The 3 am man' fifty four times and each time, you still giggle. Some stories like 'They were birds, but they didn't sing' you go back to, to be reminded of the cruelty but also the resilience of humans. To feel something. You're a Gang member for life.
11 years later, Biko shakes your hand and introduces himself to you. That humility thing that famous people do. Kina Beyoncé. Also, his face isn't out there as Beyoncé's is, so I guess he kind of has to introduce himself.
On that Wednesday morning, he wears msanii pants (plaid printed), matches it with a navy blue and maroon shirt and pairs the look(u) with Nike sneakers. On one of his hands, he rocks a bracelet and on his neck, a chain that's settled in the depths so you only see it shimmer from time to time when he leans forward. He also rocks an earring, msanii things. And a salt and pepper beard. How is he in person? Pretty chill, curious, open, still funny and tall.
It's the 2023 Bikozulu Writing Masterclass, March Edition. It's to take place for 3 days, max! You want to be more intentional with your art. As a rite of passage, you enroll for this class.
On day 1, as you and your classmates introduce yourselves to each other, Biko digs deep. His questions are like shots bila chaser. Immediately, you have a feeling of belonging : this is where you're supposed to be and you're grateful to be there.
You meet Bett, Biko's co-facilitator and are swoon. You admire how cool her personality is and how settled she is within herself. She knows her stuff, and says things as they are. "If you put me in that WhatsApp group, I'll eventually leave." Haha. Because she's a great writer and author, she gets us. Our dreams, our insecurities and our ambitions. She teaches us, affirms us and validates us.
You learn about what it takes to be a disciplined writer from the two. This will make you better in many ways and forms.
The sessions are interactive and casual. Each time you look at the clock, you die a little inside. Time flies when you're having fun and you don't want it to end. But at least you're distracted from this heartbreak by snacks, lots of them. And tea.
You're grateful for the new family of writers that you've found in your classmates. You now all know that Frank Sinatra has a cold, some better than others (inside joke. I hate it when people have inside jokes and I'm not included. Ai. But I can't explain now only cause it'll be too long).
When the WhatsApp group is formed, you don't mute it.
The differences between these classes and those 8-4-4 high school ones are incomparable. For one, you don't hear the word 'syllabus' once. At the end, there is no ranking, meaning no lectures from Biko and Bett. Plus we actually got to have cocktails, Mr Pepe!
The experience feels like a pilgrimage. A Mecca for writers. You're a changed being, for real this time. You know this because the switches you've made ever since, have managed to last for more than 3 days.
Check out Bett's books here
https://craftit.co.ke/
Y'all know Biko's blog
https://bikozulu.co.ke/
Love this for you!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tony 😊
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